Legendary Pictures has reportedly paid more than $3 million to acquire the movie rights to SenLinYu’s upcoming dark fantasy book, Alchemised.
Details on what is said to be a record-breaking deal come from THR, which reports Legendary made the big-number offer early in hopes of preemptively staving off competition. The site’s sources say the deal may be, without accounting for inflation, the most expensive book-to-movie rights acquisition ever.
You may be wondering, ‘Why is Legendary so interested in Alchemised if it’s not even out yet?’ Although it will introduce readers to a new world of magic when its September 23, 2025 release date arrives, the novel actually has roots in the world of Harry Potter.
The two properties share no official connection, but THR’s sources say Alchemised began as Dramione – fanfiction centered on a secret romantic relationship between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. SenLinYu, who is also known as Sen, has since spun the story off in its own direction, instead focusing on the fictional world of Paladia and a protagonist named Helena Marino.
“In this riveting dark fantasy debut,” a description shared on the official Alchemised website says, “a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy — and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.”
Backing Alchemised’s status is the Portland, Oregon-based author’s established reputation in the fantasy realm. What began as stories written in the Notes app during their baby’s nap time eventually evolved into a collection of work that has been published and shared across the internet.
These include Manacled, a Harry Potter fanfiction that has achieved a 4.63-star rating after nearly 140,000 user reviews on Goodreads. Sen’s author description says their work has garnered more than 20 million individual downloads and has been translated into 23 languages.
“I’m honored by Legendary’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and can’t wait to see the world of Paladia come to life,” Sen told THR in a statement.
